Tall, Dark, and Texan (33 page)

Teagen took the time to pour himself a cup of coffee but didn’t sit down. He waited, knowing the woman would tell him why she came in her own good time.

“I thought I heard shots while I was heading this way,” she finally said when the girls seemed more interested in the chalk she’d brought them than in any adult conversation.

“You did. Someone is across the river taking shots at my men. You’d be wise to leave before they charge the ranch. One of my men, Tattor Sims, was hit. Sage is seeing to him now.”

The old woman had lived through far too much to be frightened by words or even a few shots, for that matter.

“I’ve made the acquaintance of Mr. Sims twice, once in Austin at a funeral and last week when he rode in for supplies. How is he?”

“He’ll live if we can keep the fever down.”

She nodded in understanding. “I lost my first husband to fever after a gunshot wound.” She took a sip of coffee and announced, “You need to get those terrible men off that land. This kind of thing is just not to be tolerated.”

He looked up, surprised she’d voiced his plan.

Travis answered. “We’re thinking of heading over and doing just that, but we don’t own that slice of land. Legally, they’ve got as much right to be there as we do. And we’ve no proof they are the ones shooting.”

“Of course you do. Mr. Sims’s bullet holes should count for proof. And who else would be out there foolish enough to shoot at a McMurray but some stranger to this part of Texas.”

“You’ve got a point. But they still got rights.”

“Not if I say they don’t,” she said in her most teacherlike voice.

Both men stared, but Travis got his question out first. “Why do you say that? Do you own that land, Mrs. Dickerson?”

“My second husband did. When he bought it, he was afraid they wouldn’t let me have it if he died, so he put my name on the deed. Though I go by my middle name of Etta, my mother named me after the doctor who delivered me. I was Floyd E. Bradly before I married Mr. Hayes, before I married Mr. Dickerson.” She turned to Travis. “Is the land still mine, even though I remarried?”

“I don’t know if it would stand up in court, but right now you got more claim to it than anyone.” Travis knelt down beside her chair. “And if you want us to run those men off, we’d consider it the neighborly thing to do.”

“I do,” she said just as gunfire exploded outside.

Everyone ran for the windows. Travis took one look and knew what they’d feared was happening. A line of thirty or more riders was forming on the other side of the bridge, ready to storm across. In minutes they’d all be on McMurray land riding straight toward the house with their guns blazing.

Teagen picked up his rifle. “Jessie, you and Martha get the girls to the cellar.” He glanced at the schoolteacher. “Will you join them, Mrs. Dickerson?”

“I will not,” she said, “but I will sit with Sims so Sage can fight with her brothers. If I know that girl, she’ll not want to miss a fight, and Sims and I will have a nice visit.”

“Done,” Teagen said and ran through the door without another word.

If they’d had time, the McMurrays would have met them at the bridge, but with so many men, they needed the cover of the porch as an advantage.

Travis had rifles lining the railing when Sage joined them. “Where’s Tobin?” she asked as she lifted her gun.

Before anyone could answer, Roak ran around the side of the house and swung up on the porch. “Morning,” he said as if all hell wasn’t about to break loose. “I was afraid I’d be too late.” He winked at Sage. “Need another gun?”

“Yes,” she managed and handed him a second rifle.

His hand covered hers for only a second, but Teagen thought he saw something pass between them. An acceptance maybe, or the beginning of a friendship.

Everyone stared at the outlaws just beyond the bridge. They were too far to shoot, but once they charged, the McMurrays would need every loaded rifle on the porch to get them all. Even good shots couldn’t hit a moving target 100 percent of the time. That would leave half or more of the men making it to the yard before the McMurrays had time to reload. Maybe the outlaws would even be close enough that the fight would turn to hand-to-hand combat.

Travis wore a long knife on his belt; Teagen kept one in his boot. If he survived this day, he swore he’d buy a cannon and mount it at the bridge with a sign that anyone coming within range might find themselves buzzard meat.

“Where’s Tobin?” Roak whispered.

No one answered as the yell to charge echoed from the bridge. From the way they came, there was no doubt that a military man planned the attack. Ten men hit the bridge with another dozen right behind.

Teagen and the others raised their guns in silent readiness. Seconds ticked by in slow motion. This was what he’d trained all his life for. This was all he’d ever been. Like lightning flashing against midnight sky, the image of Jessie sleeping on his bed crossed his mind, and Teagen realized if he died today, he’d known one more thing. He’d had the promise of her. If it turned out that was all he got in this life, it was enough.

He molded his finger around the trigger and held his breath. Every shot had to count. He would not fire until they were within range.

Suddenly, an explosion shattered the wooden bridge as if it were no more than a toy. Men and horses flew in every direction. Pieces of wood showered the land and splashed into the river. A thunderous roar rumbled, then echoed off the hills behind them.

The family watched in silence as black smoke cleared, leaving a gaping hole where the bridge had been. The few men who had made it across the bridge gathered the wounded and dove into the rapid current to try to swim away. The outlaws on the other side turned tail and rode away, leaving one man shouting orders to no one.

As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Travis said calmly, “Well, at least we know where Tobin was.”

“If the general can catch what’s left of his men before they make it back to Mexico, he’ll have a hard time getting here without the bridge.” Roak rested his rifle on his shoulder. “And I was all fired up for a fight.”

Travis set his guns down. “In a few hours I’ll take a couple of men and ride over to make sure they are not planning to regroup.” He looked at Roak. “You want to ride with me?”

“Sure.” Roak smiled. “You bet. Any chance we’re having breakfast first?”

“That and lots of coffee. We’ll have to swim the river.”

The boy laughed. “No problem.”

“We do have another problem, gentlemen,” Sage added.

All the men looked at her.

“Mrs. Dickerson is on this side of the bridge.”

A groan came in harmony.

“I could blindfold her and take her through the pass,” Teagen offered.

Sage shook her head. “She can’t ride. Bad back. Her buggy would never make the trip through the passage.”

No one answered when Drummond said, “What pass?”

“Well.” Travis shrugged. “I guess she’s staying for dinner till fall.”

Teagen frowned. The longest he’d ever been able to stay in the same room with the old lady had been five minutes, and he was about to have her around for a month or more.

Another problem crossed his mind. Roak had heard them speak of the passage through the hills. They’d have to kill him or marry him into the family. Teagen didn’t want to even think how the vote would go.

TOBIN DIDN’T RETURN UNTIL NOON. WHEN HE’D fired the powder beneath the bridge, the blast threw him in the river. He drifted with the rubble for a mile or so before swimming out and walking back to the house. He had several cuts Sage doctored as she lectured him on trying not to get killed.

Tobin didn’t say a word; he just sat at the kitchen table next to Travis and drank coffee while he tried not to flinch as she pulled splinters from his hands.

Jessie watched, knowing that Sage’s anger at her brother was out of love. She might be six years younger than him, but as she did them all, she mothered him. Teagen might be the head of the family, but Sage was the heart.

When Tobin took off his shirt, Rose saw the terrible scar on his chest and began asking questions.

After Tobin told her all about being shot as a child the first time the bridge blew, she went around the house asking everyone if they had scars. Jessie could almost see her little mind cataloging each account so she could check on them later.

When Rose wandered into the downstairs bedroom and saw Tattor Sims, questions exploded from the five-year-old. Martha ran her back toward the kitchen, claiming that no child should see a man’s bare limbs. So Rose asked her mother all about men’s limbs while Jessie tried to get a meal ready alone.

As soon as Sage finished caring for her brother, she grabbed her hat and hurried out. There were horses that also needed doctoring.

Tobin tugged on his shirt and stood. “Don’t tell my wife I was hurt,” he said to Jessie as he dropped his coffee cup in a pan of soapy water. “She’ll have a fit.”

Jessie paused in her chore of peeling potatoes. “All right, I won’t. But she’s bound to notice the bandages. Maybe you should stay away from her until you heal.”

He shook his head. “If I know her and Travis’s Rainey, they’ve already hired a coach and are waiting to head this way. I made her promise not to start until I sent word that all was clear.” He looked miserable. “Travis and I left Austin less than a week ago, and I already miss her. We’re going to have another baby. Liberty says a girl this time, but McMurrays tend to produce boys.”

“Which do you want?”

He shrugged. “I don’t care. I just wish she was here.”

Jessie remembered Teagen writing about Tobin’s marriage last year. She also thought he said his brother never talked. Maybe he’d just had little to say before he married.

Rose circled through the kitchen once more, wanting to know where Emily was. “Martha said she thought she seen her following Sage to the barn, but she didn’t tell me she was leaving.”

Tobin reached for his hat. “I’d best go help. The men found three horses near the bridge. They were all cut up and bleeding. We need to do what we can to patch them up, even if they’re not ours.”

“What about men?” Jessie didn’t like the idea that even an outlaw might be hurt and left to die.

“I saw a few bodies in the river,” Tobin admitted. “Dolan Hatch found two dead on our land. He said from the blood trails to the river it looked like several more were hurt and running for their lives.”

“I hate thinking about them hurting,” Jessie whispered.

“They would have killed you and the girls if they hadn’t been stopped,” Martha cut in as she stepped from the hallway. “Men like that don’t put no value on life. Look what they did to poor Mr. Sims, and he was a Texas Ranger who never did nothing to them.”

“I know,” Jessie managed, “but I do care about anyone hurting. I think we should help them if we can.”

No one else in the room said a word.

Jessie thought of the days when adventure and danger could be escaped by closing a book. The dangers in this land frightened her, but she felt more alive here. She’d thought she liked the silence, but she loved all the noise of the McMurray house much more. She took her first stand as a McMurray. “Who’ll go with me to check?”

“Not me,” Martha said in her flat tone, “but I’ll stay here and finish up lunch. Appears you got a fine stew going.”

Travis, who’d showed little interest in what was happening, now looked up at her from the table. “If Teagen were here, he’d be throwing a fit about you even thinking about stepping outside this house. We won’t know until we search if they’re all gone. There might even be one who made it across and is hiding in the trees near the bridge.”

There was a hardness in Travis’s face that left Jessie with no doubt he spoke the truth, but that didn’t change what needed to be done.

“I can face Teagen. If I had a guard, I’d be safe. We can’t just let someone who is hurt out there bleed to death.”

Both brothers looked at each other and smiled.

“Did you hear that Tob? She can face Teagen.” Travis let out a yell.

“I did.” Tobin laughed. “If she’s that set on going, I guess we both better go along to see that nothing happens to this brave little woman. Teagen is never going to find another wife like her.”

They were pulling their hats down when Teagen came back into the room.

He took one look at them and said, “What’s going on?”

Both younger brothers fought down smiles. Finally Tobin said, “Ask your wife.”

Teagen turned to her. “Well?” he said, obviously bothered everyone else in the room seemed to know something he didn’t.

“I’m going down to see if there are any wounded outlaws.” Jessie untied her apron. “Tell Sage I’ll bring any back that I find for her to doctor.”

She ignored the fact that her husband looked like he might explode with unsaid words as she walked out of the kitchen.

The brothers scrambled to follow her.

Halfway to the barn, they all heard Teagen roar from the porch. “Watch out for her!”

Jessie grinned. He was angry at her, but he didn’t try to stop her. Teagen was learning. Tonight she’d tell him just how wonderful he was.

Tobin pulled the wagon round for Jessie, and they rode beside her all the way to the bridge. Hatch had already taken the two bodies away, and Jessie saw for herself that there were no wounded. Because of the shattered bridge, they could go no farther, but she stood in the wagon and looked anyway as both brothers stood guard.

Then, knowing she’d tried, she turned the team and drove back to the house.

Teagen met her at the barn.

She wasn’t surprised both brothers found something to do. The oldest McMurray looked like a one-man war party.

“Jess,” he said low and deadly. “We need to talk.”

She headed for the cellar.